


Eavesdropping and Assuming

by finnonna



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn, hopefully they'll eventually figure it out, pride and prejudice au, two idiots arguing all the time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-06 18:43:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8764669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finnonna/pseuds/finnonna
Summary: Her father was not subtle about his desire for her to get married, at this point, she could marry a cow and she think's he'd be pleased. Romance was never something she was craved and her father pushing it toward her made it even more unappealing. However, there are moments, flashes when she could potentially not hate it. Watching her brother fall in love was certainly a moment for her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Lovely to see you here, this my first multichapter fic! I don't know how updating will do as I am a college student, but I do hope to get a good schedule going soon!  
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also thank you @Phelpstwinsandelftwins for editing this and listening to all my ideas constantly!

Her mother had never persisted as much as her father has about marriage. A bastard was horrible to his reputation, a bastard who is unmarried at the age of twenty-seven… Well, that was a complete embarrassment. He told her over and over again how this would not ruin him, but her half sister’s chances of marriage. She was a plague on him, just as her brother was. An unmarried, wild, loud plague on him.

She couldn’t say that it bothered her much, she disliked her father to her core. He was rotten, only taking her and her brother in because that was what an honorable man did. She didn’t quite believe he was honorable, but he put forth a face that was.

Perhaps it was her younger half-sister that made her go to the ball. She was an innocent in all of this and she would never punish an innocent such as her sister. Velora was too sweet to be punished, too young to be punished.

“Vex’ahlia!” Her brother, Vax’ildan, called out as her feet pressed against the soft ground of her father’s estate. She slowed but did not stop. “Vex’ahlia! If you don’t wait up for me, I will find you anyway, and you know it!” Her brother’s teasing stopped her feet, as a smile crossed her face.

“Yes, brother?” her voice drawled, as she looked over her shoulder at his rushing figure.

“You can’t be serious about going to this daft ball, can you?” His face was pressed in an expression of exasperation.

“Why can’t I be?” She poked at him, with her index finger as he finally came to her side.

“Giving into what our father wants, that’s never been you.”

A deep sigh rose from her, she turned away from his face to look at the horizon of farming land around them. “Perhaps it should be.” Her voice paused, she knew he’d never accept that answer. It was a lie through and through anyway. “Brother, it’s no longer just us to think about.”

He was aware of her soft side for their sister, he could see how she looked at Velora. He saw that she saw what she could have had with their father, and he couldn’t blame her. He had those thoughts as well. “Velora will be able to find a suitable husband without you selling yourself to the highest bidder. We both know that. She is an intelligent, sweet girl anyone will want to marry.”

A bitter taste flooded Vex’s mouth,“Anyone would, but their family… Their family would never want an unmarried bastard as their sister-in-law. We both know that, brother.”

Perhaps he saw the set of her face, the twitch in her jaw, or the narrowing of her eyes, but he knew the conversation was over for now. She wasn’t going to change her mind anytime soon, not when she kept picturing herself as their youngest sibling. “You are not her and she is not you,” Vax said as his feet took him briskly away from his sister.

Her teeth clenched together and she hated that her twin could read her so well. Her feet had sunk a bit into the mud, dirtying the bottom of her dress. She knew her father would turn up his nose when he saw the mud trail behind her and hardened herself against his reaction. “I am going to the ball and that’s the end of that,” she whispered to her brother’s retreating back.

* * *

 

Vex closed her eyes for the hundredth time that evening as her half sister and step mother fretted over her dress. She knew that they were attempting to help, but if someone pulled the corset lacing tighter once more, she was sure she would explode. She wasn’t quite sure if it would be from annoyance or the fact her chest was not made for this kind of dress.

“Mama!” Velora called from the heap of ribbons she was occupied with, “Blue or black?” Her small fists held a ribbon in each, waving them around until Devana looked away from the corset lacing.

“Blue,” she answered finally. “It will show in her hair far stronger than the black.” Velora squealed with delight, apparently thinking the same.

It took some time for the two females to finally approve Vex’ahlia’s look for the evening, but when they did, Vex herself couldn’t help but be pleased as well. She had always been confident that she was beautiful, but tonight… tonight she knew everyone else would see it as well.

She took her time coming down the stairs, hoping the anticipation would be building in her father and brother’s chests. She knew Vax would tell her she was beautiful, but she hoped that for once her father would agree. She resisted the urge to play with her hair, a nervous habit she had picked up as a girl, as she descended from the upper level of their home.

“You look absolutely stunning, sister.” Her brother said, as she had guessed he would. She waited to look at her father, her chin high when she finally did.

“It will do for tonight,” he told her with a once over and a brisk turn. “Come along quickly, the carriage will not wait a fortnight for you to come to it.”

Vex blinked quickly, cursing herself for hoping that he would say something complimentary. She rushed past her brother, hoping he would let her forget her flicker of hope.

Vax’ildan’s hand grasped her wrist quickly, “You are beautiful, he’s just a twat. He always was and will always be a twat. Don’t let him get to you.”

 _Too late for that, brother._ Vex thought bitterly as she nodded and kept going. She allowed him to link their arms together, settling into his side as the carriage began to ride to the far Greyskull Keep.

* * *

Velora and her mother chatted quietly in the carriage, going over the history of Greyskull. Vex was impressed with her younger sister’s knowledge, as the little girl rattled off about the new owner.

“Mama, it is so interesting, because we call it a keep, but it is far more like a Castle now. I’ve also heard from Marrissa that the new owner is named Scanlan Shorthalt, but he’s come with two friends from Emon.” Devana nodded along with her daughter, as though she had already heard this a few times.

Vex’s dark eyes glanced out the window of the carriage, watching as they came closer to the shining lights of the Keep. She wondered, as her hand tightened around her brother’s, what everyone would think when the two bastards walked in. Their father would make them come in behind him, Devana, and Velora, marking them to everyone else as bastards.

Her brother’s thumb ran circles around the back of her hand, calming her oncoming wave of nerves. “We will be fine, sister,” Vax muttered quietly to her. “Let them think what they will about us, keep your chin high.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Balls were often a place to make new friends, or new not-friends, as the social environment cultivated an easy atmosphere. Or at least, it would be an easy atmosphere if Vex'ahlia could stop making uncomfortable eye contact with a stranger who seemed to hate her even though they had yet to have one conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for coming to read my second chapter of Eavesdropping and Assuming. The new chapters will be posted on Sundays or Mondays, depending on how I'm feeling!
> 
> Thank you again, Phelpstwinsandelftwins, for helping edit this chapter <3\. You're the best. 
> 
> She puts it best about my schedule for this fic,"My mind warps between time zones."
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

The ball was already thriving when the group entered, the twins darting quickly away from their father to find friends within the crowd. Vex spotted Pike, a small woman of thirty, standing off to the side of the dance floor chatting away with a man she hadn’t seen before.

She watched with a bemused smile as the man attempted to impress Pike and her friend was graciously blowing him off. She only approached once the unknown man walked away,“Darling, another man who’s wondering why a fine woman such as you is single?” Vex’s tone was teasing as she slid next her friend.

“They’re all very nice men, truly! I just have no time for the silliness of courting one.” Pike said in response, glancing around the room quickly.

“I do believe Grog is with my brother,” Vex told her, figuring she was looking for her large friend. “They’ll likely be over her soon to ward off any suitors attempting to approach us.”

“Ah, good. I was beginning to worry where he had gone off to.” Pike raised her eyebrow,“And why would your brother be warding off suitors, you want to get married one day.”

Vex snorted,“I have no desire to marry. I have too much to do to be married.”

“And you’re doing it all stuck in this town, under your father’s thumb?” Pike’s voice was not unkind, meant to softly remind Vex of her reality.

Vex’s mouth pressed into a line, she knew Pike was right, knew that she was stuck here until she was wed, then would be stuck with a husband. She dwelled on that thought for quite some time, as the music swelled around them, only to be pulled out of her thoughts by a large arm going around her shoulders.

“Vex!” A gruff voice called down to her.

“Hello there, Grog. How are you enjoying the ball?” She asked pleasantly, looking up at his impressive figure.

“There are lots of lovely ladies around, I’m having a great time!” He said gleefully, grinning down at both Pike and Vex. “I think Vax should go onto the dancefloor and find a few ladies himself. Might do him some good, he needs -” Grog voice was cut off by the main doors opening wide, four figures making a grand entrance.

Vex’s head whipped around to stare at the figures, her curiosity for these impressive newcomers rather overwhelming. Two of the individuals were grinning wildly at the sight before them, while one looked rather oblivious to the scene too busy chatting to a rather sulky looking man.

The music stopped as the rest of the ball noticed the waited arrival of the Owner and his guests. An older man, Vex guessed him to be Pike’s grandfather, approached them.

“Thank you for joining us tonight! It is a great honor that you have held this ball. We all thank you most graciously.”

As the party nodded at the man, Vex leaned to Pike, Grog’s arm still around her shoulder. She shrugged him off,“Now exactly who is who?”

“The shorter man in the middle is Mr. Scanlan Short Halt and the woman next to him is his dear friend Lady Keyleth of the Ashari,” Pike whispered up to her, the smaller woman on her tiptoes to reach the ear of Vex’ahlia.

“And the other two men? Velora had said there would only be two guests.” She wondered if Velora would be irritated at her dear friend for giving her false information.

“The tanner gentlemen is a Mr. Tiberius Stormwind, he comes from a rather far off country Draconia. And the white haired man… Well, he must have been a new addition to their party, as I didn’t hear of him coming here. I’m not quite sure who he is.” Pike’s brow was furrowed and Vex’s followed suit.

“Well, then we must find out.” She said quietly back, falling into a curtsey as the party began to walk through the crowd. Her eyes followed the white haired man closely, wondering exactly who he might be. As he passed her, his head turned catching her eye before both sets glanced away quickly. As the ball began again and the group of four made it to the front of the hall, Vex glanced at Pike before laughing. That entire group seemed so odd to Vex’ahlia.

She grasped her friend’s hand as her father approached. “We shall go introduce ourselves to them now.” He glanced over her friends and her brother with a grimace. Vex kept her hand in Pike’s as they approached, no way was she doing this herself.

Pike’s grandfather, Wilhand, stood with the odd group. “Ah, Mr. Shorthalt, these are the Vessars.” Vex tried to ignore the twist in her brother’s face or the wince of Devana. “Syldor, Devana, Velora, Vax’ildan, and Vex’ahlia.” She curtsied again as Wilhand introduced her. “My granddaughter, Ms. Pike Trickfoot, and her dear friend, Mr. Grog Strongjaw.”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance. The ball is very lovely, Mr. Shorthalt, we are quite impressed.” Devana said smoothly, her smile polite.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Mr. Shorthalt responded with almost a sleazy grin. “I’m glad so many lovely women, such as yourself, could enjoy it with us tonight.”

Wilhand glanced at Mr. Shorthalt for a moment before continuing,“Now may I introduce to you, Lady Keylth of the Ashari, Mr. Tiberius Stormwind, and Mr. Percival De Rolo the Third.”

Again, Vex curtsied and thought of how her knees were going to ache later if she had to curtsy one more time that night. A pause followed their introduction, Mr. De Rolo glancing anywhere but the group in front of him and Mr. Stormwind watching the musicians play their instruments.

Lady Keyleth looked incredibly uncomfortable, her mouth opening once and then reopening before she spoke. “It’s a lovely night! The ride here was quite long but nice! I think I will dance soon,” She looked between Pike and Vex’ahlia,“Will either of you be dancing?”

Vex glanced between Lady Keyleth and Pike, feeling slightly uncomfortable by the question. Thankfully, Pike answered for them. “I’m sure we will end up on the floor for a few songs, at the least.”

The Lady smiled at the two of them, and Vex caught her brother staring intensely at the Lady. “I hope we get to talk again tonight! And dance!”

* * *

Mr. Shorthalt, it seemed, was one of the many men who became infatuated with Pike. Vex’ahlia could barely contain her laughter from the side as she watched them talk, Pike being polite as ever but uninterested in the way Mr. Shorthalt was.

As Pike finally agreed to a dance, Vex turned away to automatically look over at de Rolo. He was an odd one, to say the least, as the rest of his party moved out and began to socialize, he stayed in a corner. Watching the ball through his glasses with narrowed eyes.

She followed his gaze, incredibly surprised to see him watching her brother and Lady Keyleth who were chatting on the side of the dance floor. Her mouth nearly dropped when she watched her brother lean close to her ear, whispering something that made the Lady blush. This was not happening, this could not be happening. They were bastards! And she was sure that entire party was well aware of their status.

Her feet propelled her forward, moving quickly to hopefully stop this madness before it went any further. She watched, stuck between her brother by a group of young teens speaking loudly, as her brother extended his hand toward the Lady. This could not be happening.

When she was finally able to push through the gossiping teens, her brother was leading Lady Keyleth to the floor. “Vax’ildan!” She used her sternest voice, only to have him look over his shoulder at her and smirk.

“I am going to kill him one day,” She muttered darkly under her breath.

She watched the pair for a few more seconds, and based on her brother’s smile, decided that perhaps this wasn’t the worst thing that could happen that night. She turned to look to the side, hoping to catch the eye of one of her friends, but instead came to look upon a white-haired man for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night.

Vex steeled herself, glancing out again to the dance floor. At this point, Pike is the closest to her and she looks like she is having quite a bit of fun with Mr. Shorthalt. She knew what Pike would do in this situation and therefore attempted to follow her friend’s lead.

“Do you enjoy dancing, Mr. de Rolo?” She inquired, looking back to the white-haired man at her side. Her brows furrowed as she watched him grimace.

“I avoid dancing, or I attempt to.” His voice was clear, accented in a very aristocratic way. She nearly rolled her eyes, he sounded like her father’s friends. He wasn’t a fan of talking it seemed, but she waited enough seconds for another attempt at conversation that it was nearly embarrassing. She supposed she wasn’t his type of talking partner then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Percy is not good at talking and it rather uncomfortable with this situation has a whole anyway. Poor Percy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vex attempted to be pleasant at all the balls she attended, which was not many, but somehow one man made all her attempts worthless. He didn't know her and she didn't know him, but she felt as though she could already tell the type of man he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! Thank you so much for coming for chapter 3!

“You danced with the man twice in an hour and you’re telling me you are completely uninterested?” Vex asked, shocked.

Pike shrugged, her small frame moving with her slim shoulders. “I told you Vex, I am not a marrying type of woman. I’m not looking to become a wife, I have too many plans.” She turned to look at her taller friend. “You know I’m leaving soon, off to go explore countries outside of here. I have no time for a man.”

“You’re making excuses, Pike.” Vex frowned at her friend, looking unconvinced with her reasoning. “Maybe you’re afraid.”

“Perhaps I am, but no more than you are. You came to this ball afraid of what would happen if you didn’t. You say you don’t wish to be married, but you dress to be the star of the ball.” Pike’s eyebrows were raised almost comically high. “We both have our reasons.”

It was time for a change in topic, Vex was not a fan of this conversation anymore, not when it turned for being teasing to serious. She felt the pressure of her friend leaving on her chest again, Pike would be missed.

“Your brother hasn’t come off the dance floor for quite some time,” Pike mused, her eyes trailing the grinning redhead that was Lady Keyleth. “He seems to fancy her.”

“She seems to fancy him.” Vex corrected almost automatically, much to Pike’s amusement. “Okay, perhaps they fancy each other, but he hardly knows her.”

“They haven’t stopped talking since we were introduced.” Her friend’s calming voice told her,“Maybe he knows her a bit more than you give him credit for.”

How could she miss that? She did see that his smile was brighter, though not quite as large as her’s. He looked happy, Vex felt like she should be happy for him, but there was a seed of mistrust in her. If she didn’t know his status, that meant she could still toss him to the side if she found out. Even worse it could all be a horrible joke, one to punish the bastard for thinking he even had a chance. Her throat tightened with worry, her hands automatically going to her hair to play with it.

Pike nudged her in the side, a few feet in front of them were Mr. Shorthalt and Mr. de Rolo. De Rolo still had a displeased look on his face, though Vex assumed that was his default expression. “Now, Percival, you haven’t been on the dance floor once tonight! There are so many beautiful women here, just pick one.” Mr. Shorthalt’s voice was nothing short of joyous, his hands moving through the air, gesturing to the crowd of people.

“I do believe the only truly beautiful women here is the one you danced with and our dear friend Keyleth.” De Rolo replied, quieter than his friend, but Vex was used to eavesdropping and was rather good at lip reading.

“What about Ms. Trickfoot’s lovely friend? Vex’ildan? She was quite agreeable.” Vex grimaced as the other man combined her name with her brother’s, but a smile came to her face when he complimented her.

“Vex’ahlia. She’s… Tolerable. She has barely been picked to dance by anyone here, there must be something we don’t know about her.” There was a tinge of distrust in his voice, which if he hadn’t been insulting her, she might have understood. It was a twist in the gut because that meant they didn’t know. They weren’t aware of her or her brother’s status, which meant Lady Keyleth wasn’t aware. She felt sick, her brother was about to be torn apart by this, if they found out… She couldn’t imagine their reactions.

“Well, count your blessings Vex, if he liked you, you’d have to talk to him,” Pike said, good-naturedly, seeing her friend’s smile fall into a frown.

* * *

As if to prove his dear friend wrong, Mr. Shorthalt asked Vex’ahlia to dance. He was a pleasant man, quite funny, but a bit crude at times. He made for interesting conversation and she found that he was quite knowledgeable about the world and music. She found herself smiling brightly after the dance, but it faded a bit as she caught Mr. de Rolo watching her from his corner.

This time she didn’t break eye contact with him until he looked away, if she was just tolerable, then why did he keep watching her. It made her blood boil, he had no right to insult her and then watch her all night. She pushed the thought away as Grog came to ask her for a dance.

“Of course, I would love to dance with you.” Vex took his hand gently, looking back at the white haired man, as if to say, Look at me now. About to dance. Again. 

“Pike told me what ghosty said about you,” Grog told her over the music as they began their steps. “I could teach him what tolerable really is if you want.” 

Leave it to Grog and Pike to get her laugh even though she was beginning to feel deeply bothered by the sulking man. Through her laughter, she shook her head. “No, no. It’s alright. A man like that would only find a woman agreeable if she was a Queen.” 

“He’s not got good taste in women if he thinks you’re not ‘agreeable’. He probably thinks he’s so much smarter than everyone too.” Grog was a lot of things and a good friend to her was certainly one of them. “I mean he is right, no one does ask you to dance, but that’s probably because you scare everyone.” He also happened to be an ass at times.

“How do I scare people?” She asked, outraged.

“By using that voice.” He replied back, his eyebrows furrowed together. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just… That people don’t like scary people.”

“I am not scary. I’m perfectly pleasant. I don’t understand how I could scare anyone.”

“You hunt in the forest alone and get more meat than most men in town… You haggle everyone, for everything, even your brother… Sometimes you just make a face that is like this.” He pinched up his face, making a remarkably similar expression as she did when she was irritated with her brother. “And everyone knows that if there is a gold piece on the floor and you saw it first it’s yours. Even if it just fell on the floor from someone else’s purse.”

Vex was absolutely flabbergasted at the fact that Grog seemed to have a list of reasons why people found her scary. She was pleasant, she made sure to be extremely polite, and she smiled more frequently than anyone seemed to give her credit for.

“Vex, it’s not a bad thing to be scary. It gets stuff done. When people need to get stuff done, they go to you to do it.” Grog reminded her as the music ended on a low note.

* * *

How she ended up standing with everyone from the new party and her friends, she did not know. Mr. Shorthalt had obviously come over to speak to Pike, and it seemed his friends just followed along with him.

"You see, everyone loves Pike.” Grog said grandly,“When we were fifteen a man asked to marry her, she said no obviously because she doesn’t want to get married.” He slung his arm around Pike,“She’s an independent lady, getting her own food and paying her own bills.”

Vex watched de Rolo tilt his head at Grog’s statement,“You hunt then?” There was a tone that Vex did not like, one of disapproving and judgment.

“Surprised a woman can hunt?” Judging by Pike’s face, Vex may have sounded a bit snappy.

“Surprised it’s allowed, if I’m completely honest. Women don’t hunt where we’re from.”

Vex pressed her lips, attempting to make Pike proud by not saying anything. The raise of his eyebrow broke her strength. “Well, I’m allowed to hunt and I bring more game from the forest than any man in this town. Some might say that meat I bring back is quite… Tolerable.” She rose her own eyebrow and with a fake smile, curtsied, turned around, and walked away. She was tired of this ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if formatting is a bit off. Ao3 was giving me a bit of an issue while trying to post it tonight!
> 
> Hope everyone has a great holiday season! I will attempt to get another chapter out next week, but I will be on vacation!

**Author's Note:**

> I have the second chapter done already! I am just waiting until I finish the third to post the second, which shouldn't be to long from now.


End file.
